This bill would raise the compulsory school attendance age in New Jersey from 16 to 18.

This bill was amended by the Assembly Education Committee; the committee added a sentence that would change the law to say "Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a home-schooled student to continue receiving instruction beyond the age of 16." This change is highly problematic. The phrase "home-schooled student" is not found elsewhere in New Jersey law, and is not defined in this or any other statute. With no definition, courts would have broad authority to define what a "home-schooled student" is, and how this exemption would apply to homeschoolers (if it ultimately applied at all).

HSLDA's Position:

Action Requested:

None at this time

Status:

01/10/2012 (Assembly) Introduced, referred to Assembly Education Committee
02/02/2012 (Assembly) Reported out of Education Committee, referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee
1/14/2014 This bill failed to pass before adjournment of the 215th legislature, and is now dead.